Three days later, on the second floor of a noodle house.
Rhea and Mira sat by the window, watching the pedestrians walking along the main avenue. Several empty bowls sat on the table before them. The other birdkin was resting at the inn; she had been sent by Rhea to make a delivery run of steamed buns back to Stone Mountain just so the others could have a taste, and was now completely exhausted.
"Big Sister, Amelia doesn't have school today. She should be going to the orphanage. Should we intercept her for a meeting?" Mira asked in a hushed voice.
"Mn, seeing her would be good." Rhea put down her chopsticks, speaking with a hint of helplessness. "While Lucas isn't here, let's take Amelia and leave."
Could they not leave? She had searched for three days and hadn't found a single shred of dirt on Lucas. She had even gone to the Bounty Association to buy intelligence, but the information they gave her was just stuff she had already investigated herself.
"Then... are we going to forcibly take Amelia?" Mira looked at Rhea nervously. She was a bit worried that her Big Sister would cause a scene. Although Rhea was powerful, Sedona City had several hundred knights; it was no weaker than some Earldoms.
"Let's ask Amelia what she thinks first," Rhea said dejectedly. She no longer held the confidence she started with that Amelia would definitely leave with her. After all, spending these three days in Sedona City, she had truly experienced just how tempting this place was.
Extremely delicious food, a comfortable and reassuring living environment, an atmosphere of freedom, a safe and secure system, a large market with high-quality yet cheap goods, and those shadow plays that people could lose themselves in...
"..." Mira blinked. She had witnessed her Big Sister go from domineering at the start to helpless now. It had only been a few days, and most importantly, they hadn't even seen a shadow of Lucas yet.
"Perhaps, for Amelia, being in this place really is better than being on Stone Mountain," Rhea turned to look out the window. The life she experienced these past few days had reversed some of her prejudiced views.
"Uh..." Mira opened her mouth but didn't know how to persuade her. Sedona City was indeed very suitable for people to live in.
"Big Sister, Amelia is coming out." Mira looked down from the window at the avenue. She could see a few familiar figures, and Amelia was among them.
"Let's go." Rhea stood up. She shared Mira's concerns. If it were night, she wouldn't be afraid, but after scouting the castle at night, they had been terrified. Those long arrows, over a meter in length, densely aimed at the sky, had scared the two of them into retreating before they even infiltrated the castle.
"Wait, Big Sister. Amelia went into that shop." Mira pointed to a shop below. She knew what it was—a place called a 'Museum.' They hadn't been inside yet.
"Oh? Then let's go in and take a look together." Rhea raised an eyebrow. Lately, they had only been eating food; they hadn't entered the Museum, the Library, or the Realm Perfume Shop at all.
The two settled the bill and left the noodle house under the curious gaze of the shop assistant, heading toward the museum. After buying tickets, they followed the signs and entered the main hall.
"This..." Rhea's green pupils contracted. Her mouth fell open in shock as she stared at the skeleton before her. Why did this look so familiar?
"Tyrannosaurus Rex?" Mira was startled. After recovering her wits, she stared at the stone tablet and asked in surprise, "This is a dinosaur?"
"Dinosaur?" When Rhea heard that, she immediately looked down at the stone tablet. Reading the introduction, she became more and more astonished until she stood there in a daze.
"How can this be? Sixty million years ago? Is this a joke?" Rhea muttered absently, her face pale.
"Big Sister, what's wrong?" Mira asked with concern. Her sister's expression was very strange. Even if she was shocked, surely it didn't warrant this reaction? Was she scared?
"Didn't you always want to know what happened to Green Bean and Ye'er?" Rhea gritted her teeth, the corners of her mouth trembling slightly. "They... were killed by this Tyrannosaurus Rex right in front of my eyes..."
"What?" Mira's eyes went wide. She looked at Rhea, then at the T-Rex fossil. How was that possible? It had been sixty million years. Don't tell her this creature still existed?
"Deep in the Mountains of Seclusion... inside, it is completely prehistoric... It is a valley, a very special valley surrounded by volcanoes... There is a hollow underground..." Rhea recited, somewhat distractedly.
She stared hatefully at the T-Rex fossil. Although the T-Rex that attacked them hadn't been as large as this one, they had still suffered many casualties, and in the end, the beast had escaped.
"Mira??"
A cool voice came from behind them, causing both Rhea and Mira to stiffen. They turned their heads mechanically toward the source of the voice, where a delicate young girl was staring at them with wide eyes.
"Sis? Elder Sister?" Amelia's eyes trembled as she mechanically took a step toward Rhea.
"Sister?" Gaba frowned as she looked at the two strangers, her hand resting on the hilt of the sword at her waist, staying close behind Amelia.
"Elder Sister, is it you?" A mist of tears filled Amelia's eyes. She stared fixedly at Rhea, unwilling to even blink.
"Amelia, you've grown up." The corner of Rhea's mouth twitched as she spoke dryly. "Long time no see."
"..." Mira blinked. What was with this awkward conversation? She finally understood why her Big Sister hadn't immediately identified herself to Amelia a few days ago; she clearly just didn't know how to face her.
"Wuwuwu..."
Tears streamed down Amelia's face. She threw herself into Rhea's arms, hugging her waist tightly as choking sobs escaped her.
"It's okay now. I arrived late." Rhea's tense body relaxed. She gently patted the young girl's back, soothing her. "I'm sorry I made you wait so long."
"Phew..." Mira let out a sigh of relief. These two sisters were clearly having a bit of a spat before—one left without saying goodbye, and the other came back and couldn't find her.
"..." Gaba stared with wide brown eyes, scratching her head in confusion. Is this a family reunion?
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